


Daytime train

by NoonoosKitchen



Series: Akekitaake appetizers [5]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - No Powers, First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, backstories are still the same but none of the game's events happened, still just in case beware, there's a paragraph that could be interpreted as a panic attack but it is not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25340242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoonoosKitchen/pseuds/NoonoosKitchen
Summary: Cursed be his luck, Goro ends up having to take a several hours long train ride back to Tokyo. For better or for worse, the seat right next to his own is occupied for the entirety of the trip.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kitagawa Yusuke
Series: Akekitaake appetizers [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720816
Kudos: 26





	Daytime train

Sitting in one of the free seats in the train station, Goro rests his head on the palm of his hand, impatiently tapping his index finger against his cheek as the time for his train to arrive never seems to come. A few people around him are murmuring, some even rudely staring at him, but he pays them no mind; he’s used to it by now, his renown as the celebrity Detective Prince so widely spread since his time in high school that he had learn to ignore it a long time ago. 

“The train bound for Tokyo will be arriving shortly on platform two. Customers broadening this train, please form lines at the designated entrances. The train bound for Tokyo will be arriving…”

The computerized announcer’s voice snaps him out of his light stupor. With a small sigh, he stands up and walks to one of the entrances, going to check his wristwatch. The train is on time, but he’s so sick of waiting he feels as if it’s at least an hour late.

An unprompted party from one of his acquaintances is what brought him to this good for nothing little town next to the mountains. He does not dislike parties per se -even if they do tire him quite a bit-, but the mansion where the party had been held was, literally, in the middle of nowhere. Still, work is work, and if he had to attend the boring gathering to keep up his public figure, there was nothing he could do about it.

The sudden notice for the party didn’t allow him to buy some decent tickets for the Shinkansen, so he had to settle with a ride that lasted the entire day and stopped at almost every station. That is part of the reason why he is so irritated. The other part is due to his usual mood, pissed at life in general.

A few minutes after the train finally pulls in, and he boards as soon as the doors open. Checking his seat on the ticket one more time, he heads to the correct car and searches for the number on the upper cabinets.

He quickly gets to his designated seat. Just as he’s about to rejoice that his car is almost empty, he notices that the seat next to his is already being occupied by a tall, young man, a curtain of long blue hair covering his features. Repressing a grunt, Goro takes a sit and greets him with a small ‘hello’. The man responds in the same fashion and falls silent once more.

At least grateful that his companion is not one prone to chat, Goro takes the laptop out of his briefcase and starts getting to work, going through some of the more pressing cases in hopes of any hidden clues he might have missed.

As it often happens when he gets immersed on his work, next time he checks his watch three hours have already passed. Just seven more to go. Now back to the real world he notices he's feeling quite hungry, so he decides to stand up and go get something to eat. He settles with buying a bento set and some tea to accompany it.

Having paid for his food, he returns to his seat and finally lays eyes on the young man once more. He hasn’t stand up or even moved since Goro got in, not even to go to the bathroom or get some food. Goro hasn’t even seen his face yet, his body turned to the side to look out the window.

_ ‘What a weirdo’ _ , he can’t help but think, going to devour his meal.

Another hour passes as he finishes eating. During that time, the young man has finally started to move, squirming on his seat a bit, as if trying to adjust his posture to be more comfortable. His movements increase on the following hour, this time substituting the squirming by small shivers and audible breathing.

Wishing to keep the peaceful atmosphere, Goro tries to ignore it as best he can, but when the shivers turn to trembles, the man’s shoulders shaking from time to time, his attention is caught again. Observing the man’s figure, he notices a set of long, pale fingers coming up to grip his upper arms, grabbing the fabric of his sleeves with force, probably in an attempt to get a hold of himself. 

Goro arches an eyebrow at the scene, wondering what in the world is going on. He doesn't feel any type of worry for the man, but he looks like he’s about to break and honestly, having a sobbing mess right next to him for the remaining five hours doesn’t sound like a good plan.

“Excuse me, are you all right?” He asks in a low tone, not wanting to upset the other any further.

Still with his efforts, the young man does a little jump at hearing his voice, finally turning around to look directly at Goro.

His scarlet eyes widen when they are met by two sets of silver irises, beautifully framed by dark, thick and long lashes, which also clash with the pale skin of the man. His features are frail, yet with a slight sharpness to them, and Goro can’t help but think he’s extremely pretty.

“Oh, I apologise, I didn’t mean to disrupt you…" His thin lips move to form the sentence, a rich and velvety voice escaping through them. 

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it,” Goro replies, a smile naturally growing on his face. “Are you ok?” He asks again.

“Ah, yes. It’s just… I’m no traveling in the happiest of circumstances, and I think it’s getting to me. I apologise once again.”

With a small bow, the man brushes some stray strand of his long hair behind his ear and moves to turn again to face the window.

Before he can do that though, Goro raises his voice again.

“Would you like to talk about it? People always say that letting things off your chest makes you feel better.”

The polite and meek demeanour of the beautiful man has picked Goro’s interest, and he wants to know more about what is distressing him so.

“I wouldn’t want to burden you, but thank you for the kind offer.”

“It’s no burden at all. Besides, I don’t have anything better to do, and my ride is quite long,” he quickly refutes, his expression becoming softer. “I only want to lend a helping hand."

In his line of work, Goro has gotten good at using words to cohort information off his prey during interrogations, and these manipulative skills come in handy more often than not. He looks at the other man with what he hopes is an earnest face, waiting for his lips to become loose.

It seems to work quite well, because the young man begins to talk once more. “The reason I’m travelling to Tokyo is due to… a funeral, of a family member. We hadn’t seen each other for years, so the situation is a bit complicated.”

“I see. Were you close?” He asks, pushing the other gently.

“Well, he was… my foster father,” comes the answer in an almost hesitant whisper.

Those words pick Goro’s interest even more. He finds himself leaning forward a little bit as he continues his interrogation. “Did you grow distant for something in specific?”

“We… didn’t really get along.”

The young man’s indecisive words are clearly hiding something underneath.

“Was he a strict father?”

“Yes, that is a way to put it,” he replies in a stern voice.

“And what makes you so uneasy about this? Is it because you have regrets?”

“Regrets…” He repeats, a small chuckle of disdain escaping him. “I have none, I didn’t even want to attend in the first place. But not doing so weighed heavily on my conscience, so I ended up giving in. Still…” He takes a gulp, resting his back against the seat. “I’m drowning in doubts. What will I find there? Who will be there? Will they think I’m there in hopes of some kind of inheritance, when it couldn’t be further from the truth? Will they confront me for parting ways with my mentor? The uncertainty is what’s making me uneasy.”

Goro obverses him during his speech, noticing how his lips purse and his eyes become watery. There is something else, something he’s not telling him.

“I can’t say I understand how you feel, but I can sympathise with your situation. Still, think that even if you are in Tokyo, you can still not go. And whatever it is that happened between you and your father, he is dead now. Nothing else will come from it.” 

When he says that, Goro is talking more to himself than to the man. He himself had a history with uncaring fathers, and he has dealt with the passing of his own too, even if that death was better received than this one seems to be. No one questioned anything when the corrupted, soon the be Prime Minister passed out from excessive drinking and never woke up again, and Goro had made sure no one tried to dig up any more information about how that had happened.

The shaky voice of the man brings him back to reality. “Yes, he is gone now… but the memories aren’t,” he mutters, his form lurching forward. A curtain of blue hair falls in front of his face, obscuring his features.

Goro observes him, carefully picking his words. “Memories are just that, lost in the past.”

Another chuckles comes from him, and he bends down further, hugging himself. Even if his face is obscured, his cracked voice reveals quite clearly that he has started crying. “But how... How can one forget the endless, cold nights sleeping in a dark shack? The days without meals? The aching of the bruises… even if people die, memories don’t.”

The revelation makes Goro fall silent. He had expected something of the sort, but the confirmation didn’t make it easier to accept.

He knew very well of those struggles, he had lived them first-hand, also under the care of an adoptive family that supposedly cared about him.

The man is right. Memories never die, and Goro’s are making his chest ache now.

Finally feeling compelled to truly console him, Goro observes the shaky body of the man, not really knowing what to do. His instincts -probably affected by his tired state- tell him to touch him, and he settles with placing a hand on the man’s back, rubbing it with small and slow circles.

The contact props the other to take his head up, his silver eyes looking at Goro with deep sadness.

Goro’s heart does a little skip at the sight. The man’s sorrowful expression and the shining beads of tears sticking to the long lashes leave the detective awestruck. He didn’t know something so tragic could look as beautiful as this.

“He won’t touch you again,” he mutters, his face going serious.

These words seem to finally break the man, who closes his eyes while shaking his head and lets the tears freely stream down his sculpted cheeks. Even with the small sniffs and the shaky shoulders, he remains silent, a strange elegance to his crying form.

He lets his feelings overtake him for a few more minutes, Goro never stopping to touch his back, until he collapses against his seat. The weight of his body makes him fall slightly to the side, his head going to gently rest against Goro’s shoulder. He must be drained and exhausted from the emotional rush, because his consciousness begins to fade and he falls asleep shortly after. 

Goro observes him for a while, letting him rest there. In this vulnerable state the man looks so ethereal Goro can barely contain his urge to increase the contact between them. He wants to know if that pale, spotless skin feels as soft as it looks, if those strands of silky blue hair would slip through his fingers, if his body is as warm as the last tears rolling down his cheeks. The man looks totally passed out, so if Goro’s gentle enough, he wouldn’t notice any careful movements.

Not being one to let opportunities escape, once he’s sure the other’s really sleeping, he readjusts the man to have his body fully rest against his side, tugging his head in the crook of his own neck. Goro lets his hand run across the man’s back until he reaches his side, starting to travel down the soft curve of his body. He then sneakily curls his fingers around his thin waist, leading them down until they rest on his hip. He relishes on his warmth for a few moments before he turns his head to look at the same window the young man had been looking, making his thumb rub against his prominent hip bone.

The contact of his body and the active company make the remainder of the trip feel much shorter. They stay like that for a long while, Goro feeling so comfortable against him that he’s ended up resting his own head against his, feeling the silky blue hair brush against his cheek and closing his eyes.

More long minutes pass, until a sudden movement and a small gasp snap Goro out of the comfortable trance.

“Oh my, I’m, I am so sorry, how could I..!” The young man begins to babble, pulling away from Goro and rubbing the faint trail of tears off his face. “How embarrassing, I am truly sorry. To bother you with my personal matters and to recline on you like that, what was I thinking…” He continues, his cheeks tinting with a pretty pink blush.

“Don’t worry about it, it was nothing,” Goro responds with a small laugh. Even if he’s cursing the lack of warmth on his side now, he needs to repress a pleased smile at the sight of the flustered man, unable to stop himself from thinking he looks cute.

After the awkwardness has faded, they start to share some light conversation, interrupted by some snacking, and they finally arrive at Tokyo.

Their things gathered, they get off the train together and stop in the platform, facing each other.

“Once again, I must apologise for my rude behaviour, and thank you for indulging me. You are truly kind,” the man says, dipping his head in a small bow.

“You don’t need to keep apologizing, it’s fine,” Goro responds chuckling, observing him with attentive eyes.

“Well then, I hope your business in Tokyo goes well. Farewe-”

Before the man can finish his sentence, Goro fishes a business card from the pocket of his jacket and hands it to him.

“If something comes up, don’t hesitate to call me. Or if you just want to talk, that’s ok too.”

Face clearly surprised, the young man takes the card, looking at it with wide eyes.

“... Thank you,” he simply responds.

“Well, see you then,” Goro says, turning to leave.

The man says his goodbye too and turns as well, both taking their own ways and getting lost in the passing crowd.

**Author's Note:**

> Will Yusuke call that number...? I wonder.
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3
> 
> [ twitter ](http://twitter.com/nature_check)


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